Niger is suffering its worst floods in years. Weeks of heavy rain have affected about 400,000 people and killed more than 50. Families have been made homeless and crops have been washed away in the deluge. UNICEF

Congolese church officials today (5 September) appealed to the international community to stop the atrocities wreaked on the east of their country by the M23 rebel group and other militias, which they accused Rwanda of backing for economic gain.

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan, Michael Keating aims to use a 12-day trip to Europe and the United States to highlight to some of Afghanistan's key Western partners a funding shortfall of nearly 300 million US dollars in aid. His first stop today is London. UNAMA

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today told a meeting of the General Assembly on the 'responsibility to protect' that the Security Council's "paralysis" on Syria was harming the Syrian people. UNTV / FILE

Governments must urgently act to reduce the health and environmental hazards posed by the increase in use of chemicals in industries worldwide, says a United Nations report launched today. CH UNTV / FILE